New HRK brochure: "German Rectors' Conference: The Voice of the Universities"

News

9Sep2019

HRK President reiterates call for immediate release of Ahmadreza Djalali following reports of an attempt to force a confession

HRK-President Peter-André Alt has once again shown solidarity with academic Dr Ahmadreza Djalali, who has been detained in Iran since 2016: “In an open letter, I have again urged the Iranian head of state to immediately release Dr Ahmadreza Djalali from custody in Tehran. I am deeply dismayed by reports that the academic, who has been detained since April 2016, has been temporarily transferred to an undisclosed location in a reported attempt to extract a confession from him.”More

28Aug2019

Shifting political culture threatens academic freedom

In recent years, populism, nationalism and new forms of aggressive escalation have been exerting a growing influence on political culture in the West. Fundamental values of liberal democracy such as freedom of expression and tolerance are coming under attack. The consequences of this radicalisation on science in Germany and the USA was the focus of a two-day event held at the Thomas Mann House in Los Angeles.More

22Aug2019

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between MPDL Services, on behalf of Projekt DEAL, and Springer Nature sets the scene for the world’s most comprehensive open access (OA) agreement to be finalised later this year. Reaching such an understanding has been possible through acknowledgement of the common commitment of both parties to the principle of open science.More

1Jul2019

HRK President reiterates Bundesrat statement on professional titles

Following the statement of the Bundesrat on the draft of the amendment to the Vocational Training Act (BBiG), HRK-President Peter-André Alt, made the following comments: "I'm delighted that the Bundesrat has requested in the legislative process that professional titles are developed that cannot be confused with academic qualifications. Its statement strengthens our conviction that new titles such as Bachelor Professional and Vocational Master would be counterproductive."More

26Jun2019

HRK President on European higher education alliances: a success for Germany, a win for Europe and a major feat for the universities

Following the announcement of the first 17 European higher education alliances funded by the EU, HRK-President Peter-André Alt commented: “German universities are represented in 14 of the 17 European networks chosen. This is an impressive achievement. It bears testament to the fact that German universities see themselves as engines of the European ideal and are collaborating creatively to develop new forms of partnership. A great variety of approaches has been selected in order to bring the idea of the European higher education alliances to life.”More

13Jun2019

Rare, diverse, vital: Rare Disciplines weeks at German universities

The “Rare Disciplines Weeks” were officially launched by the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Seventeen projects are being funded to showcase and network their Rare Disciplines in the coming winter semester. “The joint initiative is designed to strengthen these disciplines, which play an important role in the German higher education landscape but seldom receive the attention they deserve. The goal is to raise the profile of scientific achievements in the Rare Disciplines, provide information about courses of study and career prospects, and give a real taste of the relevance of these disciplines to our everyday lives,” said HRK President Peter-André Alt. More